“Does he make you dress up like a school girl? I don’t see him playing professor.”
“Not so much.” She shakes her head. “He doesn’tmakeme do anything. There’re things he likes, and I enjoy doing them for him.”
“Yeah? What does he do for you?” I don’t mean the question to come out as challenging as it does. Luckily, my sister isn’t offended.
“A lot of things.” She stands and holds out a pair of black ballerina flats with long ribbons. “Do you want shoes or not?”
Something about the silky ribbons, meant to wind up my ankles and tie into a bow, will appeal to Blaise. “Sure.”
“Cute,” Karina says, once I’ve changed. “The shoes look better on you. You should keep them.”
“Thanks.”
I stand, ready to go back downstairs, but Karina’s blocking the door. “Are you all right after the other night?”
“Uh, yeah.” I remember what Blaise said about my sister questioning me and decide to go direct. “Well, except that I guess the guy, the president of the other club? He’s trying to shake Blaise down for money or start trouble between the clubs. He said I stole something.”
She stares at me for a few seconds before responding. “Dante mentioned it.” Her eyes meet mine. “It would be really stupid to steal anything from another club.”
“No shit. They had me tied to a damn chair, and then Blaise and everyone else showed up. So even if I was stupid enough to steal from them, I didn’t really have a chance.”
“What a bunch of morons.” Her gaze slides to the door. “Dante doesn’t discuss a lot of club business with me, but he won’t let anything happen to you. You know, if things with Blaise don’t work out.”
The simple, sincere way she pledges her boyfriend’s protection—a guy who, let’s be honest, scares the crap out of me—pierces straight through all my doubts straight to my heart.
The silence between us is awkward until I finally come up with some words. “Thank you.”
“Although from what I saw downstairs, I don’t think Blaise is letting you go any time soon.”
My mouth pulls into a smile. “True. I’m shocked he even let me out of the house tonight.”
Watching Kadence dance with her sister in the middle of the Iron Bulls MC’s clubhouse makes me wish I’d forced her to wear a paper sack. Or paid more attention to the clothes she packed to “change into” when she arrived. A woman with her beautiful face and lush body already attracts a ton of attention. The black halter top and denim skirt aren’t helping. My gaze wanders down the length of her body, stopping at the shoes. Simple black shoes, but they have these crazy long ribbons that Kadence twined around her ankles and tied in a bow. They’re really fucking with me.
The clubhouse is packed with semi-naked girls, and I’m hard over the fucking shoes my girl’s wearing.
“No one will bother her here,” Dante assures me.
That’s good news. Since we’re in a club full of bikers I don’t know or trust all that much, I’d rather not end up in a fight. Even if I do have a fair number of my brothers, including my father and Thorn, here to back me up. Thankfully, Thorn wised up quick and hasn’t tried to eye-fuck Kady’s sister since Dante made it clear touching her would result in the loss of a few fingers.
“She doing okay after the other night?” Dante asks, nodding at Kadence.
“Back to normal.” As I say the words, I realize they’re a lie. Kady’s better than normal. Sweeter and more relaxed.
Dante’s mouth quirks as if he wants to say something like, “Don’t envy you there.” Then he gives me a more serious appraisal. “They didn’t hurt her, did they?”
“I don’t think so. Scared her mostly.”
“Bunch of fuckin’ clowns.”
There are a few moments of silence where I’m waiting for the Iron Bulls’ enforcer to start grilling me. My gaze sweeps over his cut and zeroes in on the flash he wears toward the bottom of the left side. A collection of bull and horn skull patches. If I had to guess, each one represents an enemy of the club Dante “dealt” with. Our club hands out something similar.
I set my beer on the coffee table in front of us. Losing any sort of control around this guy is a bad idea.
“Heard you two weren’t a thing,” he says. “You patch that up?”
“We’re working it out. Why you so interested in my love life, Dante?”
“Why do you think?”
